# Upgrade to Housing Systems for Nonhuman Primates in the Center for Comparative Research

> **NIH NIH R24** · UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CTR · 2022 · $396,500

## Abstract

Project Summary
In 2014, the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) expanded its research on drug addiction with the
addition of several research programs using nonhuman primates. Since then, the number of nonhuman primate
researchers at UMMC has grown, and they have obtained numerous research grants from the National Institutes
of Health (NIH). As a result, the total number of nonhuman primates at UMMC has tripled since 2013. Our
institutional animal resources have always maintained sufficient numbers of “standard” stainless steel caging to
accommodate these animals. However, some of the caging is now quite dated. Moreover, our caging was
purchased from numerous commercial vendors presenting a considerable challenge to establishing social
housing interactions through cage linking. This grant is specifically directed at upgrading caging that will facilitate
socialization and enrichment of the environment for our approximately 100, NIH-supported, nonhuman primate
research animals. The institution has made a significant investment to be a leader in nonhuman primate
neuroscience and addiction research. UMMC transformed the existing Guyton Laboratory Research Building
into a nonhuman primate-intensive large animal research facility housed within the Center for Comparative
Research (CCR). This “consolidation” approach provided additional benefits to these NIH-funded research
programs in the form of opportunities for greater cross-collaboration and centralized veterinary and husbandry
programs tailored to nonhuman primate needs. Ultimately, the animals have benefited by having a single,
comprehensive environment that allows for socialization. This proposal seeks to build upon the investment
already made by UMMC and modernize our remaining older nonhuman primate cages by replacing them with
an integrated Carter2 Systems, Inc., social-caging system. This will address the psychological needs of these
animal as well as create a standardized caging system for the researchers who have purchased customized
cassettes that are compatible with the Carter2-style cages. In addition, we propose to purchase mobile vertical
tunnels with scales. These tunnels are part of the integrated Carter2-caging system and can be used across
laboratories for transportation and body weight measurements. These mobile tunnels will improve animal welfare
by allowing us to collect nonhuman primate weights without using sedative drugs or restraint chairs, and by
allowing us to collect more frequent weight measurements and thus, more closely track trends in weight.
Specifically, the institution seeks financial support to purchase 28, Carter2 Systems, Inc., one-over-one
socialization racks and 2, Carter2 Systems, Inc., large mobile vertical tunnels with wire panels and scales. The
proposed caging modernization and acquisition of vertical tunnels will allow the numerous NIH-funded projects
using nonhuman primates at UMMC to have a species-appropriate environment, fostering animal...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10533496
- **Project number:** 1R24OD033714-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** ANDREW W GRADY
- **Activity code:** R24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $396,500
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-06-01 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10533496

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10533496, Upgrade to Housing Systems for Nonhuman Primates in the Center for Comparative Research (1R24OD033714-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10533496. Licensed CC0.

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